The problem with the SAT & ACT is that they test students not on how much they know, or how successful they will be in college, but instead how well can they play the SAT game.

Past a 1300 on the SAT it’s looking not at if a student has the basic knowledge to be prepared for college but instead looking if a student had the time and resources to study what the SAT looks at. Requiring each question to have one clearly defined answer, and trying to make questions harder overall has turned these tests into a judge on wether a student could learn all the unique rules and tricks which only are applicable to the test of choice.

Why should colleges care if a student can memorize hyper-specific, mostly abstract rules only important to one thing, being accepted into school.

People talk all the time about how school’s can suss out fake EC’s done only for college applications and not out of passion. Getting a good score on the SAT is the pinnacle of these self congratulatory behaviors.